


We'll Rebuild, Stronger

by seekingferret



Series: A Decision I Appealed Vigorously [2]
Category: The Avengers (2012), West Wing
Genre: F/M, crossroles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-06
Updated: 2012-05-06
Packaged: 2017-11-04 22:34:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/398946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seekingferret/pseuds/seekingferret
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh Lyman prepares to attend Phil Coulson's funeral. Donna comforts him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We'll Rebuild, Stronger

**Author's Note:**

> Set in the universe where Clark Gregg's West Wing character faked his death to become Clark Gregg's Avengerverse character.

The mirror in their small hotel room was a little foggy, and Josh can't be sure he'd gotten every spot with his razor. He looked again and swore at a missing patch by his chin. The razor erased it with an impatient stroke. 

"Donna!" he called. "Have you seen my green tie?"

She stuck her head out of the bathroom for a minute, holding her bra in her left hand and her toothbrush in her right. "You loaned it to Sam a month ago. He needed a lucky tie for that Meet the Press appearance."

A pained look crossed Josh's face as the permanent wrinkles on his forehead went tight. "He never gave it back? Damnit! Well, which tie should I wear with this suit, then?"

"The blue one I packed for you. It's right there on top of your suitcase." She waved at it with her right hand and retreated to the bathroom. 

Josh continued talking as if she were still in the room. "It's going to be strange going to a second funeral for Mike. The first time was gut-wrenching enough. We'd just gone out and had a beer three weeks before, to celebrate that big counterfeiting ring he'd caught. We watched the Mets game, complained about bosses, everything was totally normal, and then he's gone. My security clearance earneds me the second level of cover story, so while you thought it was a drug bust gone bad, I thought it was the Hulk. I had to go through the funeral, grieving for another friend lost, and lie to his parents the whole time. It was absolutely horrible." He tied the tie into a practiced double windsor by the bedside, then began to pace the room.

"He told me later that he'd known already when we had that last beer. That was why he finally stopped blowing me off and met me at 51st State Tavern, because the bastard wanted to say goodbye. But he didn't let on at all. It was just totally normal. A boys night out. I'm sure I must have been at him about Amy or whoever was messing with my head at the moment. I guess he did that with all of his family and friends in those last weeks before the night at the wastewater plant. I can't even imagine doing that, holding that kind of secret over everyone's heads and still being completely yourself for that one last time. Mike was way more complicated than he ever let on.

"Wow, black really is your color, Donna. You look stunning. No, I'm serious, you just get more and more beautiful. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you when he came back. It was probably six months after inauguration when I found out. I needed to get briefed on the Iron Man situation and asked General Fury to meet with me and the national security team to brief us on the latest developments, and instead he sent someone named Agent Coulson. I was angry because I thought he was foisting me off on an underling, but he insisted it was because Coulson was more up to date on Stark's technology. Then he walked through the door and it was Mike Casper. You could have scraped my jaw off the floor. He asked after you immediately. He was thrilled when I told him we were engaged. He gave us a great wedding present. You know that contraption that cooks a perfect turkey in three minutes?"

Donna eyed Josh suspiciously. "The one you told me came from your Uncle Joe's ex-wife, who worked for Stark Industries."

"That's the one. That was from Mike. He really wanted to be at the wedding, but too many people who knew him in his old capacity were going to be there. I sent him a copy of the wedding DVD and he sent me that contraption. I think it has some alien technology... convergent dielectrics or something. He was a good guy, Donna. There aren't many people who are as good as him."

She put her arm on his shoulder and rubbed gently. "I know. It's not your fault he's dead. You did everything you could to support the Avenger Initiative. You pushed through that massive appropriation for the airship on the strength of your personality alone. You made sure that Mike had all the tools he needed to protect our country. He died fighting for the country he loved."

"I know. At least now his parents know the truth. The president insisted they be told. I think he'd be happy about that." Josh kissed Donna and slipped his hand into hers. His breathing calmed down. He glanced at his watch. "We'd better get going. The funeral starts soon." Donna smiled a thin, relieved smile. He was going to be okay.


End file.
